CFTC Moves Ahead with Crypto Rules Amid Legislative Stalemate

CFTC Chair Michael Selig says the agency is pushing ahead with crypto market-structure rules despite the lack of new legislation. In a recent CNBC interview, Selig stated that existing statutory authority gives regulators room to act.

According to Selig, the CFTC had previously reviewed its existing authorities as part of the president's working group on digital asset markets and will continue using them to update the regulatory framework.

The agency is also preparing for financial markets that operate '24/7 on-chain' and increasingly rely on automation, algorithms, and agentic finance. Selig emphasized that the CFTC is taking this modernization effort seriously, calling it an 'exciting time' for financial markets.